Demarca, the developers behind some of the most beautiful apps on the App Store is back after Dearest Bialowieza Forest and Nature’s Beauty Wallpapers with another stunner, the Bison bonasus.

Photographer Krzysztof Onikijuk spent some significant time in the wild, capturing precious snaps of the European Bison (Bison bonasus) with his camera. If you’ve never really thought of bisons as magnificent creatures, this “Nature Photography Album” should change that.

“Meet the heaviest surviving wild land animal in Europe – the European bison  – seen thru the lens of Krzysztof Onikijuk, nature photographer from Poland.

This album contains over 100 high quality images of the European bison and other inhabitants of the Bialowieza Forest, one of the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain.”

The app features support for dual screen AirPlay mirroring: just start the Diaporama mode, find the AirPlay icon and your iPad/iPhone screen will turn itself into a remote to change the pics or pause the show, while your HDTV will start lighting up with some wonderful colors.

Just like Demarca’s previous apps, Bison Bonasus is basically a beautifully executed slideshow of breathtaking photos, coupled with some soothing music in the background. Not only European Bisons, but flowing rivers, snowy woods, Pygmy owls and Hazel hens also take the stage.

Besides, many pics come with quotes by locals, historical notes and photographer comments on how the photo came to be. And on the iOS screen, you can save the pics to your camera roll, share them on social media or fast forward through the gallery of 114 pics.

“It’s as if Krzysztof was painting them, proving that photography really is an art,” says Elzbieta Dzikowska and she couldn’t be more right.

In the end, if you love watching The Discovery Channel or The Animal Planet, this app is going to give you goosebumps.

Get Bison Bonasus from Apple Store for $1.99

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The post Bison Bonasus – A spectacular app to AirPlay to your Apple TV appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

The jaw dropping loading screen drives you into a grid of featured photographs, each having its own story to tell. Select one and your iPad shows the article in a typical blogpost fashion, while the Apple TV puts forth the featured image in full screen. You can select other pictures, country stats or author bio and all are stunningly animated on the Apple TV. Interactive pictures and slide show modes are also present.

So far so good. But is this update as huge as some claim to be? Not really. First of all, though shown in full screen, these are not HD images which look great from 5m aways, but fades, blurs and pixelates as you look closer. Reuters wants you to subscribe to a monthly ($1.99) or quarterly ($5.99) plan for the HD edition. Anyway that’s understandable, ‘coz these are some breath-taking pictures we’re talking about here.

But the whole AirPlay setup in The Wider Image app seems a little funny to me. Once you take up the post, the same photo is AirPlayed till you end reading and exit, unless you select another one. Selecting other images, country statistics or author info, would bring it up both on the iPad and the Apple TV, which doesn’t make sense. What a normal reader wants (at least for me) is to show the featured image when he starts reading and as he scrolls down and comes across another photograph, that should automatically be mirrored even without selecting it. This would help him to comfortably read the content, look up to the television for a good look at the image and continue downwards.

It is odd that the world’s greatest news agency has left such a large room for improvement in the user experience department. Hopefully other reviews and user feedbacks have already brought it up to their notice and they’ll be bringing changes in the next update. So if you’re really into photojournalism and can put up with a little hiccupps, you can get The Wider Image app from the App Store for free.

Other new features in The Wider Image 3.0 update:

– Infinite stream of stories on the home screen
– Search stories, photographers and countries across the archive
– Browse 10 new themes. From ‘Cultural Atlas’ to ‘Living Planet’, there’s something for everyone.
– Enjoy striking images on your widescreen television, streamed wirelessly to Apple TV
– Even more image detail for retina displays with optional HD subscription
– Redesigned Explore screen shows stories on a world map
– Redesigned My View screen enables you to select photographers and countries to follow. All your favourites are now in one place.

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The post The Wider Image app from Reuters now supports AirPlay appeared first on Apple TV Hacks.

Editing photos on your iPad, iPhone, iPod, and yes, even your Apple TV! It is no secret that we all love to take photos with our mobile devices leaving the only question to be: “How can I edit, and share, my pictures?” Well, Air Show HD hopes to be an answer to this question. And a few others. It is true that Apple has offered the ability to share and edit your photos since the release of iOS 5. That said, there is one thing that Apple has never addressed and that is in regard to the photos you may not want to share publically.

As of today, if you decide to set up a slideshow with your iOS device, on your Apple TV, you have little-to-no control over what photos you will be showing. The only power you are given is the ability to select what folder you will be viewing within the default photo gallery. Well, if you are anything like me, you may not want to show every photo within that location to others.

This is where Air Show steps in.

Air Show HD by Splitmo – Straight From The Source

• Show off your best pictures on your big screen TV using Air Show and an Apple TV. Zoom in, crop and caption your best pictures while Air Show automatically builds a slide show for you.
• Air Show allows you to search through your photos, adding them directly to the TV or the generated slide show. Air Show shows only the photos YOU want without your friends seeing potentially embarrassing pictures by accident.
• If you want to save more than 3 slide shows, Air Show provides unlimited slide shows as a one time in-app purchase.
• Full Retina support for the iPhone 4, 4s, 5 and the new iPad.

The GOOD:

1)  This application works AS ADEVERTISED. With every press of a button you are given clear directions on what you need to do, and how you need to do it. This enables all users, at every skill level, to be able to use this application. Air Show keeps it simple.

2)  The UI of Air Show makes navigation quite easy. The ability to drag and drop photos gives the feel of a more advanced program, like Photoshop, running on your iOS device. Though the functionality could be considered “advanced” the use of these features does not leave you feeling as if the app were overly complicated.

3)  The AirPlay function is insanely responsive. Though most of the credit for this feature may go to Apple, iOS, and the software development behind the two, Air Show HD has done a great job taking advantage of these features. You are given the ability to zoom in, and out, while the slideshow is streaming to the Apple TV. This is a feature that the default iOS gallery does not have functioning fully.

The BAD:

1)  At first glance, this application feels lacking. When I first launched it and started using it to stream slideshows, I felt it was missing some basic functions that iOS does very well by default, such as multiple transition animations. That said, the longer I played with Air Show, on my iPad 2, the more I began to see it for the benefits it offers. Not to mention, updates are prevalent in all apps. Surely there will be more to come from this app.

The UGLY TRUTH.

In the end, Air Show HD stands on its own against the latest features, and options, of the default iOS gallery and its’ ability to stream slideshows to your Apple TV. As of today it is missing quite a few features that I would want to see in order for this application to become a full time app that I would use on a regular basis. Again, that said, there are two things that make Air Show stand out as an application worth downloading to your device today:

• The Price Is Right!

Air Show is absolutely free, right now! The fact is that we all love finding free apps and taking them for a test-drive. So, I would encourage you to head over to iTunes and give Air Show a shot.

• Privacy Control

The simple fact that I can select photos from different locations and easily create a customized slide show, is a powerful feature in-and-of itself. If you have “private” photos mixed in with your collection,  this app is absolutely  worth trying. I was able to create a slide show of select wedding pictures, vacation shots, and some graphic art I had made, all the while forgoing some “more embarrassing” shots.

Grab a copy today.

Also read:

Air Show updated with music playlists and color captions support

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